Critical Analysis and Evaluation [Friday]

Assignment Content

1. As you progress through your program and move into the professional world, your ability to be a good consumer of research becomes increasingly important. This means understanding research in terms of evaluation, application, and creation (Rodriguez & Toews, 2005). The Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis (AES) model was introduced in the ACCESS curriculum as a tool to help you develop higher-order critical thinking skills. The following assignment provides an opportunity to further develop your ability to analyze and evaluate research literature in education. Note that all research analysis and evaluation within this assignment will promote skills that are transferrable to your dissertation. You will advance to synthesis when completing the literature review for your dissertation.

   Select and read two journal articles (one qualitative and one quantitative) from the Electronic Reserve Readings.

   Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper analyzing and evaluating both the connection and alignment among the introduction, literature review, and methodology included in the content articles provided in the Electronic Reserve Readings.

   Consider the following questions as you complete your critical analysis and evaluation of the journal articles you selected.

   Explain the steps you took to analyze and evaluate these research components.

   • How are the problem statement, purpose statement, research question(s), and hypothesis(es) aligned, and how are they supported by the literature review?
   • How does the research presented in the literature review support the theoretical conceptual framework in the introduction?
   • How does the research in the literature review support the methodology section, including research design, population, sampling, and sample size?
   • How did the author demonstrate synthesis in the literature review?
   • As you complete this assignment, also consider assumptions, assertions, and inferences made by the author and yourself in relation to each of the content-specific research components within your discipline. What insight have you gained from this process that will help you to develop these sections of your dissertation?

     Describe the findings of your analysis and evaluation.

     Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

     Submit your assignment.

     References:
     Rodriguez, A., & Toews, M. L. (2005). Training students to be better consumers of research: Evaluating empirical research reports. College Teaching, 53(3), 99-101.